Care to test your knowledge of dogs?

[The Snark]

For many years I had a standing offer of $100 for anyone who could guess the parentage of Wigglebutt. Nobody came close. I upped it to $1000. One top flight dog expert once spent about 15 minutes and guessed one of her parents. When I told him the other parent he stared, called in a colleague, they stared and conferred and found all the traits of both parents, all fully visible and obvious once they knew what to look for.

Both her parents were extremely well known but different breeds. Both pure blood, one AKC, one registered in Germany. She stood about 10 inches tall at the shoulder. Her fur was black, quite wiry, single coat, about 1 inch long. In build she was wiry and very tough weighing in around 15 lbs. As her parentage on both sides, she was a hunter. She was completely fearless. She chased off 3 bears and a cougar and faced down a Bobcat, that I witnessed, along with chasing off dozens of coyote pack intrusions. She was tireless and could run for hours. She once kept pace more or less with my horse on an all night 50 mile ride and kept up on a 220 mile 4 day ride. These are all hints of the breeds her parents were.

More hints. Both parents were hunting dogs by lineage and training. Partly because of her lineage training she did not like to be picked up, cuddled or petted. Pick her up she would instantly wriggle out of your arms. An oddity: She had 'nubian' skin. A very dark brown. She never harbored fleas. They would jump off and never bite her.

So what was her mother and dad?

Since it doesn't show that well in the picture, an extra hint. Her nose and muzzle shape was what gave away half her lineage that the expert guessed.

Extra extra hint. She was completely blase about water. She wasn't interested in swimming but would plow through fast moving rivers rather than pick her way across on rocks.

 

[Niffarious]

My first thought was Xolo x wirehaired Dachshund, but I imagine that's far off

 

[madamoisele]

Looks like part scottish terrier. No idea about anything else.

 

[Wadew]

Ha.... I would say a wired hair terrier with a muzzle of a chow! lol

-Wade

 

[Damzlfly]

Jack russel cross?

nope...

border terrier?? Maybe? I do big dogs, not little ones hahaha

 

[JZC]

wire haired german pointer and dachshound/affinpinscher

 

[Boatman]

Some kind of terrier(s) for sure. I want to say schnauzer also, but I don't know if they're much used for hunting.

Patterdale?

What was so special about the nose and muzzle? A pic of her standing would be helpful.

 

[MarkmD]

Not sure lol, I'll say Fox hound, no idea I love dogs but not as much as T's.

Edit, not sure if that exists, just made up by me lol, something like Metal gear solid.

 

[Malhavoc's]

German wirehaired pointer and schipperke

 

[pitbulllady]

I'm guessing that Standard Poodle is in there, perhaps the dog from Germany, where Poodles are still bred largely for hunting and guarding, not as foo-foo pets, and perhaps either Miniature Schnauzer or Yorkshire Terrier on the AKC side. Both were originally bred to hunt and kill small vermin, especially of the rodent persuasion.

pitbulllady

 

[Formerphobe]

From that pose alone, she looks like a "Pooter". (Poodle X Terrier) A standing pose would be helpful to see length of leg, tail length and carriage, and body build. At 15# and 10" shoulder height, it would most likely be one of the vermin or truffle hunting Miniature or Toy Poodles in the mix, though even littermates from a mixed breeding can appear totally disparate, some pups favoring the bitch and others the sire. I lived with a Scotty-poo for nineteen years that looked almost identical in the face and the haircoat.

 

[The Snark]

Congrats to Niffarious, JZCtarantulafan and Formerphobe, almost half right, and PBL at half right. Her mother was a normal miniaturized dachsund, the gopher terror of her neighborhood. She had miniature bred into her lineage to help prevent spinal troubles, AKC accepted. Her father was a Barbone (standard poodle), a professional truffle and small game hunter. One puppy in the unusual mating. Dad stood nearly 20 inches tall at the shoulder. Mom around 5 inches. You are quite correct that if someone knowledgeable was able to examine and see her stand and move it would have been easier.

I'm impressed. You people came much closer than anyone else and on par with that expert.

On a comic note, her mother displayed the old dachsund lineage. She could sense gophers and moles and went at their yard over the years until, as one of her owners put it, 'the place looks like we are amateur explosives and demolitions experimenters'. The landscaping a complete write off.


For those who know their European dogs intimately, the hint of Wigglebutt keeping up with horses was a give away of sorts. Both the Pudle and ditch hound are in the top 10 of tireless endurance dogs.